Cook homers, Spikes fall to Black Bears

Lukas Cook, seen here in the field for the Spikes in a previous game, homered to lead the State College offense in Thursday's loss. (Steve Manuel)

July 15, 2021

BOX SCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY (via PitchAware) GRANVILLE, W.Va. – Lukas Cook slugged his first home run of the Major League Baseball Draft League season, and Cameron Lee joined Brady Brecklin in producing multi-hit games in their return to the State College Spikes, but the West Virginia Black Bears took a 6-4 victory

BOX SCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY (via PitchAware)

GRANVILLE, W.Va. – Lukas Cook slugged his first home run of the Major League Baseball Draft League season, and Cameron Lee joined Brady Brecklin in producing multi-hit games in their return to the State College Spikes, but the West Virginia Black Bears took a 6-4 victory on Thursday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.

Cook took a 1-0 pitch from West Virginia (22-11) starter Zach Bravo (3-0) 350 feet deep to left field in the fourth inning for a solo shot to draw State College (16-22) to within 3-1. The Spikes shortstop out of Walters State Community College in Tennessee also notched his ninth RBI in 23 MLB Draft League games.

Lee and Brecklin, who each began the season with the Spikes before departing in early June, both made noise after coming back for the post-Draft portion of the season. Lee, who added a walk, notched the Spikes’ first hit of the game in the second before leading off with a single in the seventh and scoring on Kevin Karstetter’s RBI groundout.

Brecklin singled in the third and knocked in another Spikes returnee, Michael Slaten, with a single in the seventh to make it a 5-3 game.

After a Paul McIntosh double knocked in a Black Bears run in the seventh, Spikes newcomer Cy Kerber drove in his first run with the team by doubling in Marques Paige to complete the scoring in the eighth.

Spikes starter Joe Miceli (1-4) took the loss after yielding five West Virginia runs on six hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. Miceli also struck out five batters in the effort.

Bravo earned the win with five one-run innings for West Virginia. The right-hander allowed three hits and two walks while striking out seven batters. Mason Studstill (1) struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to notch the save.

Ryan McCoy went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two runs batted in for West Virginia.

Friday, the Spikes and Black Bears will complete their two-game mini-series at Monongalia County Ballpark with a 7:05 p.m. contest. Starting pitchers are not yet available for either team.

Following the trip to West Virginia, the Spikes will return home on Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. to take on the Williamsport Crosscutters for two games. Fans can join the Spikes and Mount Nittany Health in the fight against breast cancer at the annual Paint the Park Pink Night. The first 250 fans through the gates will receive a Pink Spikes Mask Giveaway, presented by Mount Nittany Health, with additional masks for sale at $10 apiece. A portion of the proceeds from Pink Spikes Mask sales will go to the Mount Nittany Health Foundation to support the work of the Breast Care Center at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

After the game, the skies will light up with FIREWORKS presented by Mount Nittany Health.

It’s also a Super Saturday, *presented by *PA Lottery *and *B94.5, featuring great chances to win big throughout the night. The fun includes Baseball Bingo, with the first 10 Bingo winners entered into a drawing on August 7 for the Baseball Bingo Ultimate Prize Pack, featuring a 70-inch Ultra HD Smart TV.

The series concludes on a Sunday Funday, *presented by *Bigfoot Country Legends, *featuring the interactive fun of *TikTok Night. Gates will open at 3:00 p.m. for Sunday’s 4:05 game against Williamsport.

Tickets for both weekend games, as well as every game remaining on the 2021 home schedule, are currently on sale through the Spikes Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased by calling (814) 272-1711 or by visiting the Ticket Office in person from 9 a.m. to the end of the game on gamedays Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to the end of the game on gamedays Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on non-gamedays Monday through Friday.

Fans can also buy and download single-game tickets by visiting StateCollegeSpikes.com.

Catch all of the action on Saturday via the Spikes Radio Network, presented by Penn State Sports Medicine, Official Healthcare Provider of Penn State Athletics, starting with Spikes Live, presented by Mount Nittany Health, on the air from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game can be viewed worldwide on the *MLB Draft League *streaming platform at MLBDraftLeague.com/streaming, along with the “Listen Live” link on StateCollegeSpikes.com and the *TuneIn Radio *app.